Charliecloud wrote:If he does nothing, are the local authorities interested..............

Thanks

I would start with them. It would depend on the scale and nature of the works whether this requires permission but raising levels by 1.5m certainly seems to be at the top end of that scale.

If the amount of spoil exceeds 250 cu. mtrs. they should take an interest, if he has done the same to the other neighbour, the amounts of spoil can be combined. The type of spoil and where it has come from will also be of interest.

Why shy away from conversation that could solve the situation without the need of a letter from a solicitor? That in my mind is not the best way forward and could escalate tensions and ruin any good/peaceful relations you have now.

Take pictures of the offending soil pile. (do you have any pictures before showing it not to be there?)Then approach your neighbour in a friendly way. Voice concern about the fact the soil if resting on your wall above the damp course and ask for it to be moved. The important bit here is to give a timeline in that you would like it to be done.

If the date passes then you write a letter yourself (send it recorded delivery and keep a copy) Now you include the photos you have taken of the soil and restate your concern about the soil and the possible damp that could be coming your way. Also I would reference your verbal conversation. Perhaps include a statement about the possible damages you forsee in the future.

This neighbour has taken it very badly that those contacted over his development objected to him raising the land, due to local flooding issues.The EA agreed and he had to raise his internal floor levels,hence his attitude and my reluctance to engage him face to face.

Before putting pen to paper, consider what the consequences may well /will be......

You request...move the piled up soil....or I will engage solicitors!

His response......go ahead mate! Won't cost me a penny!

So at approx £300 per hour plus disbursements plus Vat, your solicitor sends a letter....move the piled up soil or we will initiate legal action!

His response.....go ahead mate! Won't cost me a penny!

So you now have a dilemma...do you initiate expensive legal action and allocate your hard earned cash to this? No going back for a friendly chat now! Not much choice but to dig deep in the pockets. So legal action initiated and more solicitors letters get pinged to the neighbour for him to respond to himself at no cost to him but your costs soar! At this point many solicitors now start changing tune....well we need clear particulars of claim and the opinion of a barrister ££££££kerching!

Oh the neighbour got a few mates in and has now moved the soil....oh no legal case now exists then.....the only person sent a big legal bill is you.

Moral of the story is......a nice friendly chat costs nothing except swallowing a bit of pride.Might even be worth offering to give him a hand to move it.Your approach will determine the depth to which he digs his heels in ...and he has nothing to lose.

As most of these threads don't ever have a finale, I thought I would update this a things progress.

As luck would have it I bumped into my neighbour on neutral territory and we were both on our own, apart from the dogs. I addressed him by his first name and in a pleasant manner asked him to get the earth removed as it was breaching the dpc and could cause damage. He put his head down and said he would. At that point we went our our way.

Charliecloud wrote:The wall of my garage is on the boundary of my neighbours ground. He has recently had developers doing a PD on an old Atcost building.

During the course of the works, they have piled earth up against my garage wall.

They left site about 8 weeks ago and the earth is still there. It is about 150mm over the dpc course over a 15m length

Thanks for the update, always appreciated.

Although you are the entirely innocent victim here, I get the impression that your neighbour is also a victim of the devoloper - no reputable contractor would pile soil that high against your building - even under instructions. Your neighbour has got a very costly mistake to put right.

Just before the end of April I went round to the neighbours house, despite his car being there his wife answered the door and when I asked to see him I was told he wasn't in. I explained the situation again,including my discussion earlier in the month. It was clear to me that she didn't really understand,till I said it was piled up against the garage wall.

I left and returned to my house. Literally 2mins later the bell went and when I answered the door,my neighbour was there looking very agitated. I reminded him of our earlier conversation to which he basically told me to go forth and multiply, before stomping off.